Medical Device Enterprises in the Shadow of Escalated China-US Trade War (Attached is the list of Chinese goods targeted by US tariffs)

2018-04-09

The fight entered the second round as U.S. President Trump asked the U.S. Trade Representative Office to impose an additional tariff on Chinese imports worth USD 100 billion based on Section 301 investigation on April 5.

According to the proposed tariff list on Chinese products released by USTR on April 3, the medical industry has become one of the shooting targets. Not only high-tech medical products, but some of middle and low-end products exported to the United States are on the list! The proposed list covers approximately 1,300 products imported from China, noting they’re worth approximately 50 billion U.S. dollars of annual trade value. USTR proposed to impose an additional 25% tariff on Chinese products on the list, saying that it is to make up for the losses suffered by the United States in the field of science and technology. According to the USTR’s timetable, this list will be further reviewed by the hearing later. After the review is completed, USTR will issue a final decision on the products subject to additional tariff restrictions. A large number of medical and mechanical companies may be influenced!

Take Mindray for example. Among the current new purchases of operating room in the United States, there is 1 Mindray for every 5 monitors, 1 Mindray for every 8 anaesthesia machines, and Mindray ultrasound ranks Top 3 in US POC Market. But monitors and anesthesia machines are on the list this time.

However, on the other hand, the U.S. restrictions on technology transfer to China may also further increase the country’s belief in supporting domestically produced high-performance medical devices, inspire more independent innovation policies in the medical device industry, and accelerate the application of medical devices in China. On March 23, China has accelerated the rise of domestic production to meet America head-on. The National Development and Reform Commission and the Export-Import Bank of China signed the Cooperation Agreement on Supporting the Development of Strategic Emerging Industries in Beijing, providing enterprises with financing of not less than CNY 800 billion, focusing on supporting the implementation of emerging industry cluster development, major projects and related innovation platform construction in the category of “Strategic Emerging Industries” defined by the 13th Five Year Plan, Among them, four major focuses of the medical device industry, medical imaging equipment, advanced treatment equipment, medical examination and inspection equipment, and planting interventional biomedical materials, will also be supported.